John A. Bixler (1885 - 1967)

Born Oct 1885 in Kansas, USA

Husband of Mattie Gertrude (Sames) Bixler — married 14 Feb 1906 in Hutchinson, Reno, Kansas, United States

Died 28 May 1967 at age 81 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

He was born in Oct 1885 in Kansas, USA and his parents were Josephine E. (Frone) and James Willett Bixler (b: Oct 1857 IL)

His brothers, Thurman Bixler and Earl Bixler, loved the early planes. The brothers also owned boats and they proved very useful in Kansas in 1903 and 1904 during huge floods, where they managed to rescue many people from the flood waters.

John A. Bixler was one of the world's early pilots. He started to fly in 1911 even before he had a qualifying license in 1913.

He first started building planes in St.Louis, Mo. with Tom Benoist. John also studied with the Wright Brothers in Ohio. His international license was number 246.

One of the first type of planes he flew was a ‘bamboo plane’ as well as a ‘pusher type plane’. He did a great deal of barnstorming in the early years. He did have three crashes, including the Kansas State Fair in August 1913 but walked away from all of them.

His regular occupation was that of grocer in Hutchinson, Kansas.

He died in 1967.

Sources

• 1900/Jun/09 Census of Ward#5, Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMY6-PG6 : accessed 17 July 2020), John A Bixler in household of James W Bixler, Hutchinson city Ward 5, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 207, sheet 17A, family 342, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,496.

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2ZW-JY3 : accessed 17 July 2020), John A Bixler, Hutchinson Ward 5, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 169, sheet 12A, family 270, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 453; FHL microfilm 1,374,466.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFXC-568 : accessed 17 July 2020), John A Bixler, Hutchinson Ward 5, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing ED 177, sheet 17A, line 5, family 373, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 546; FHL microfilm 1,820,546.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVZ-28N : accessed 17 July 2020), John A Bixler, Los Angeles (Districts 0001-0250), Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 223, sheet 16A, line 25, family 356, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 141; FHL microfilm 2,339,876.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VR2S-V8R : 16 February 2020), John Bixler, Hutchinson, Hutchinson City, Reno, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 78-28B, sheet 6A, line 34, family 153, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1253.

• "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPLM-9J9 : 26 November 2014), John A Bixler, 28 May 1967; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.